Davit and means for holding and releasing ships&#39; boats, rafts, and the like.



G. J. PHILLIPS & L. A. KELLER.

DAVIT AND MEANS FOR HOLDING AND RELEASING SHIPS BOATS, HAFTS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28,19I6.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

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G, J. PHlLLiPS & L. A. KELLER. DAVIT AND MEANS FOR HOLDING AND RELEASLNG SHIPS BOATS, RAFTS, AND THE LIKE.

. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, 1916. 121,530.

Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

G. I. PHILLIPS & L. A. KELLER. DAVIT AND MEANS FOR HOLDING AND RELEASING SHIPS BOATS, RAFTS, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, I9I6.

1,210,530. Patented Jan. 2,1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET 3- G. J. PHILLIPS & L. A. KELLER.

DAVIT AND MEANS FOR HOLDING AND RELEASING SHIPS BOATS, RAFT S, AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 28, I916- L21@.,530. Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

4 SHEETSSHEET 4- Fi/g. 9.

m: NORR'S r-sysns m Mom unm GERARD JOHN PHILLIPS AND LOUIS ANTHONY KELLER, OF SYDNEY, NEVI SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA.

DAVII AND MEANS FOR HOLDING AND RELEASING SHIPS BOATS, RAFTS, AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 2, 191?.

Application filed February 28, 1916. Serial No. 80,866.

T0 at whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, GERARD JOHN PHIL- Lirs and LoUIs ANTHONY KELLER, subjects of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Sydney, New South ales, Australia, have invented Improvements in or- Relating to Davits and Means for Holding and Releasing Ships Boats, Rafts, and the like, of which the following is a specification.

his invention has reference to davit arrangements and means for hOlCllIlg and releasing boats, rafts and the like on board ships, and more especially tosuch means of the kind in which side frames or chocks are controlled by a float or floats. so arranged that in the event of thelship foundering flotation of the float or floats will result in displacement of the said frames or chocks clear of the boat or the like.

Means of this particular kind are described in the specification of British Letters Patent No. 25477 of 1912 granted to us, the arrangement chosen for illustration in the said specification embodying devices carried by the said frames or checks and adapted, until released by the action of the float to prevent the boat or the like (hereinafter referred to as a boat), rising out of them. and means for freeing the boat from the lifting tackle of the davits or the like.

The present invention comprises improvements in means of the kind hereinbefore referred to, some of which improvements are o-f sfnore general application.

One of our improvements comprises the combination with side frames or chocks for retaining the boat in position and adapted to be displaced so as to release. the boat of means connecting the. boat to the lifting tackle of the davits or the like and adapted to automatically disengage the boat therefrom as soon as the boat is water borne; the connecting means may comprise a. pair of counterweighted levers having oppositely arranged projections and so connected to the davit lifting tackle that when the projections are in. engagement with a suitable attachment fitted to the boat and the weight of the latter is taken by the connecting means the tendency of the levers is to retain their engagement with the attachment whereas, as soon asthe connecting means are relieved of the weight, owing to the boat becoming water borne, the counter-weights cause the levers to move out of engagement and thus release the boat from the lifting gear. A catch may be provided which can be brought into action at will to prevent the automatic release occurring during ordinary lowering and hoisting operations.

Another improvement comprises the provision of means for actuating the side frame or chock releasing gear from the captains bridge or other convenient part of the ship through compressed air, vacuum, electrical or other suitable connections; the arrange ment may be such that the boats can be released separately, or in sets, or as a whole. For example, in an arrangement such as that described in the specification of our said former Letters Patent, the arm carrying the float, or some other arm connected with the shaft of each boat l'lOlCllIlg and releasing means, has arranged beneath it a cylinder and piston connected to a compressed air supply through a pipe system including valves locatedon the bridge for example, which valves control the passage of compressed air to the several cylinders; in addition to or instead of the valves correspondto the several boats, there may be another or others corresponding to the whole of the boats or to different sets of the boats. The admission of compressed air to any cylinder partially rotates the corresponding shaft and thereby releases the side frames or chocks which fall clear of the boat. The shaft may also be operable by hand.

Another improvement consists in a suitably shapcd bar or frame mounted so as to swing freely on the pivots of the bow and stern boat trunnions referred to in the specification of our said former British Letters Patent, which bar or frame serves as a support for the keel of the boat practirally throughout its whole length. The said pivots are preferably mounted in such manner that they can be lowered without difficulty, thus enabling the boat to be launched without it being necessary to lift it by-the davit tackle sufficiently for the hollow half trunnions to clear the pivots.

The improved construction and arrangement of davits which it is preferred to employ are pivoted near their lower ends and are geared or connected so that they swing in and out together; the pulleys or blocks at the upper ends of the davits are slightly outside the vertical plane containing the davit fulcrums when the davits are in their 7 being geared, it may be through idle pinions to toothed wheels on a common longitudinal shaft provided with a drum connected or geared to the piston of an oil dash pot as for example through a rope or Morse chain or gearing, the arrangement being such that as the davits swing outward the shaft and. drum rotate winding up the rope or operating the chain or gearing so as to pull out the dash pot piston at a speed controlled by. a cock in the passage between the two ends of the dash pot cylinder.

If the vessel has a considerable list it may happen that the davits will be so inclined inboard that they will not swing outward when the weight of the boat is taken, and to overcome this difficulty we provide means whereby in such a case the davits can be positively swung outboard by hand until they pass beyond the vertical. This may be effected by various means, for example there may be provided in connection with one or each of the gear wheels on the longitudinal shaft to which the davits are geared a hand lever with pawl whereby the shaft can be rotated sufficiently for the purpose, a detent preventing backward rotation of the shaft between each operative stroke of the lever.

To facilitate the engagement in their operative positions of the locking bars that are pivoted to the side frames or chocks as referred to in the specification of our British Letters Patent No. 25%77 of 1912, the looking bars have their lower ends jointed to form pawls.

As will be understood some of the present improvements may be employed without others. v

The accompanying drawings illustrate, to some extent diagrammatically an arrangement embodying our improvements.

Figs 1 and 2 are elevations at right angles of a ships boat in davits with means for holding and releasing-it; Fig. 3 is a plan corresponding to Fig. 1, but with the upper parts of the davits and the boat removed for the sake of clearness. Fig. 5 is an end view of the means for connecting the boat to the lifting tackle, the means being shown disconnected. Figs. 5 and 6 are respectively a plan and a side view of the part of the said means that are attached to the boat. Fig. 7 is a detail view of a pneumatic cylinder and piston arrangement for actuating the side frame or chock releasing shaft from a distance. Fig. 8 is a detail view showing the bar or frame supporting the keel of the boat and the mounting of the pivots of the bow and stern boat trunnions. F ig, 9 is an end view of one of the side frames or chocks with the locking bars released and turned into the positions occupied when out of engagement with the gunwale of the boat but the side frame or chock is shown in its upright position although the means which normally hold itupright are shown out of action. Figs. 10 and 11 are respectively a side view and a. plan of means for positively swinging the davits when required. Fig. 12 is adiagram illustrating an arrangement of boats adapted to be released from their side frames or chocks in sets from the bridge of the ship.-

(1 indicates a boat and 5 Z) the pivots at the bow and stern thereof on which the boat is supported through hollow half trunnions b b fixed to the bow and stern of the boat.

0 0 indicates the fixed standards carrying the pivots b and having the davits fulcrumed to them.

(Z (Z are swinging side frames or chocks in which the boat sits when the swinging side frames or chocks are in their normalvertical position; the side frames or chocks are hinged at al to chairs 1d? fixed to the deck and have a tendency to turn about their hinges in the direction of the arrows, Fig. 1 due either to the action of springs (Z or to the disposition of their hinges.

f f indicate the locking bars pivoted to the chocks (Z and provided with springs f tending to turn them out of engagement with the the form of bell cranks is mounted on a common fulcrum m, the engaging arms eXtending downwardly and having inwardly eX- tending PIOJBCUOIIS which close intorecesses n on opposite sides of a block 0 formed w1th adownward projection or stem 39 pivoted to the boat, one at the bow and another at the stern. One arm of each bell crank lever is led over a guide pulley s at the free end of the corresponding davit 20 and a guide pulley s on the pivot of the davit and thence over suitably arranged guide pulleys s to a winch it for example.

20 is a stirrup piece pivoted upon the recessed block 0; the sides of the stirrup piece, when in the horizontal position shown in Figs. 1 and 2, span the depending lever arms Z: and prevent them opening out, but when turned about its pivot 00 the stirrup piece w clears the lever arms. Conveniently the stirrup pieces 10 are connected by a lanyard g by pulling which both stirrups to can be turned into their inoperative positions shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, simultaneously.

The means for actuating the releasing gear from any convenient part of the ship through compressed air comprise an arm 1, Fig. 7, connected with the float-operated shaft 2 and located over a block 3 which is connected to the piston of a cylinder 4, both the arm 1 and the arm 1 against which the float g acts are loosely mounted on the shaft 2 and engage with pins 1 projecting over the arms 1, 1 from collars fixed on the shaft, so that when the shaft is rotated through either arm the other is not raised. Compressed air is supplied to the cylinder 1 through a pipe system 5 and reservoir 6, the pipe system 5 including a valve 5 or valves located at the point of operation, the arrangement being such that when compressed air is admitted to the cylinder 4, the block 3 with the arm 1 will be raised, thereby par tially rotating the shaft 2 and releasing the side frames or checks and allowing them to swing down in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 1, as described in the specification of our British Patent No. 2547 7 of 1912.

The keel of the boat a is supported practically throughout its whole length on a bar 10, shaped as shown, mounted to swing freely on the boat pivots b and the said pivots are arranged to move up and down in vertical slots 11 formed in the fixed standards c. The pivots 7) are supported by bars 12 mounted to vertically slide in brackets 13 fixed to the standards 0 the lower end of each bar 12 resting upon one end of a leverv 1 1 pivoted to the corresponding standard 0 at 15, see Fig. 8, and the other end of which is adapted to be held in the lowered position it occupies when the corresponding pivot 71 is raised, by a spring pressed pin 16 mounted to slide in a fixed bracket 17. By means of a suitably guided flexible connector 18 or connectors the two sliding pins 16 are so attached to the actuating lever arm 1 that, when the arm 1 is moved to release the checks, the levers 14 are simultaneously released and consequently the pivots b with the bar 10 freed to move downwardly clear of the half trunnions b of the boat. The connector 18 may also be engaged by the arm 1 when this is raised. Instead of the levers 1 1 and sliding pins 16, suitably controlled eccentrics or cams may be employed to hold or look the sliding bars 12 in the desired positions; such eccentrics or cams may be fixed on the shaft 2.

The davits 20 are pivoted at 21 to the standards 0 and below their pivots the foot of each davit is formed with a toothed quadrant 22, a longitudinal shaft 25 being geared with the said quadrants by means of idle pinions 23 and toothed wheels 2 1. Fixed on the shaft 25 is a drum25 connected by a rope 26 to the piston of an oil dash pct 27 for the purpose hereinbefore described.

As described in the specification of our British Patent No. 25%77 of 1912, the actuating shaft 2 has mounted upon it crank disks 28, the crank pins 29 of which are linked to bell crank levers 30 that engage behind the curvedstop bars 31 fixed to the swinging side frames or chocks (Z, see Figs. 1 and 2. Each of the locking bars is provided at its lower end with a pawl 32, see Figs. 2 and 9, which pawl is knuckle jointed thereto so as to turn in one direction only and adapted to engage in a recess in the stop block 33 on the corresponding lever 30, the arrangement being suchthat the pawls 32 will yield on coming in contact with the block 33 during setting of the locking bars f in their operative positions.

Figs. 10 and 11 illustrate means for positively swinging the davits by hand until they pass the vertical. 36 is a ratchet wheel fixed on the shaft 25 to which the davits are geared as already described, and 37 ahand lever freely mounted on such shaft. Pivoted to the hand lever are spring pawls 38 adapted to engage the ratchet wheel and connected as by cords 39 to a small controlling lever 40 pivoted to the hand lever. 11 are detents to prevent backward rotation of the shaft 25. The detents 411 are mounted on a sliding rod 41 and are so spaced apart that in one position of the rod neither of the detents is in engagement with the ratchet wheel 36 while in other positions of the rod one or other of the detents engages the said wheel. a1" is a lever controlling the position of the detent rod 11 Normally the shaft 25 is free, both the detents and the pawls being out of action, but when it is desired to move the davits by hand the lever sillis moved to bring one or other of the detents into engagement with the wheel 36. In some cases, the detents may be so arranged as to be disengaged by the lever 37 toward the end of its idle stroke so that thedetents will not then. prevent the davits being swung inboard. again. According to the position of the pawl 38, as determined by the controlling lever 40, operation of the hand lever 37 will rotate the shaft 25 in either direction and consequently swing the davits as desired.

In order to raise orv assist in raising the davits to the vertical position when lifting the boat, the lifting rop'e at each end of the boat may be hitched over a pulley 42 mounted on the corresponding standard 0, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2.

Fig. 12 diagrammatically illustrates a number of boats at assumed'to be supported by holding and releasing means according to the invention, arranged on a vessel, the side frame or chock releasing gear of the boats being controlled from the captains bridge as. In the arrangement illustrated there are siX boats arranged three at each side of the ship. The compressed air reservoir 6 supplied compressed air to the cylinders a (not shown in this figure) of the boat releasing gear through a pipe 44 that has three branches 45 each fitted with a cook 46 conveniently arranged for operation by a person on the bridge 43; one branch 45 supplies air to the cylinders of the set of three boats at one side of the ship, another branch 45 supplies air to the cylinders of the set of three boats at the other side of the ship and the middle or third branch supplies air to the cylinders of all the boats so that by suitably manipulating the cocks 46 the boats can be released in groups of three or all can be released simultaneously.

Assuming the ships boat to be held in the-position shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 8, if the ship founders, the float 9 will lift the arm 1*, partially rotate the shaft 2 and its crank disks 28, and thus shift the bell crank levers 30 from the positions shown in Fig. 2 to those shown in Fig. 9 thereby moving the stop block 38 on the levers 30 out of engagement with the paWls 82 of the locking bars 7 which assume the positions shown in i Fig. 9 and release the gunwale of the boat;

- the shifting of the levers 30 from behind the curved stop bars 31 also allows the side frames or chocks (Z to swing about their pivots (Z as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1 which they are perfectly free to do as the boat is still supported by the pivots Z), trunnions b and frame 10 in such manner that it can swing about the axis of the pivots as the ship rolls until the water reaches and floats the boat which will meet the water with its keel at whatever angle the ship may then happen to have assumed. If it is desired to swing out the boat before it is reached by the water, the lever 1 can be raised by hand, thus pulling on the connector 18, releasing the pins 16 from engagement with the levers 14, which then allow the bars 12 carrying the pivots to drop; the effect of this to throw the weight of the boat on the lifting tackle of the davits, and, as the upper pulley or block 8 is outside the plane containing the davit fulcrums 21, the davits will automatically swing outward, their synchronous movement being insured by the shaft 25 geared to the davit quadrants 22 and their outward movement being controlled by the oil dash pot 27.

If the boats are to be released and swung out in sets or as a whole from the captains bridge, the opening, of the cook 46 will permit compressed air to pass to the cylinder 4 of each boat, or of each boat of the set, thereby raising its piston and the arm 1 which through contact with the arm 1 partially rotates the shaft 2 and releases the boat from the locking bars f and side frames or chocks (Land also pulls on the connector 18 so that the weightof the boat is thrown on the davits which automatically swing outward all as described. The lifting of the arm 1 of any particular boat by hand or by means of compressed air from a tank such as 6 in any convenient position similarly effects the release and swinging out of that particular boat while if it is only desired to release the boat but not to swing it out, this can be done by lifting the arm 1 by hand, the boat its pivots. r

In some cases, the. lashings of the boat cover may engage pins projecting from the longitudinal releasing shaft in such manner that rotation of the shaft releases the cover lashings.

To facilitate persons entering the boat while supported by its trunnions but other wise free, the boat may be steadied by lanyards secured to the s-hips deck and hitched boats on bo ard ships, the combination'of boatv holding side frames or chocks adapted to bedisplaced so aslto release the boat, means for pivotally supporting the boat at the bow and stern independently of'the side frames or checks when held in the said side frames or chocks, davits, means connecting the boat to the davits and means for conjointly releasing the side frames or chocks and the supporting means.

then beingleft swinging on 3. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ship, the combination of boat holding side frames or checks adapted tobe displaced; so as to release the boat, means for pivotally supporting the boat at the bow and stern independently of the side frames or chocks when held in the said side frames or chocks, means forputting out of action said supporting means, fulcrumed davits having a tendency to swing outward when they take the weight of the boat, and means connecting the boat to the davits.

4:. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ship, the combination of boat holding side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced so as to release the boat, means for pivotally supporting the boat at the bow and stern independently of the side frames or chocks when held in the said side frames or chocks, means for putting out of action said supporting means, means connecting the boat to the davits and means for releasing the side frames or chocks.

5. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ship, the combination of boat holding side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced so as to release the boat, means for pivotally supporting the boat at the bow and stern independently of the side frames or chocks when held in said side frames or chocks, means for putting out of action said supporting means, and means connecting the boat to the davits and adapted to automatically disengage the boat when it is water borne.

6. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ship, the combination of boat holding side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced so as to release the boat, means for supporting the boat pivotally at the bow and stern and independently when held in the side frames or chocks, means for putting out of action said supporting means, means for releasing the side frames or chocks, means connecting the boat to the davits and adapted to automatically disengage the boat when it is water borne.

7 In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships, the combination of boat holding side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced so as to release a boat, means adapted to actuate the releasing gear of said side frames or chocks, a float adapted, on flotation, to directly operate said actuating means, and separate means whereby said actuating means can be operated from the bridge or other convenient part of the ship, the latter means of operation and the float being independent of each other.

8. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships of the kind wherein the boat is normally supported at the bow and stern by hollow half trunnions and pivots resting one upon the other mounting the lower of said parts on supports capable of being lowered so that the boat need not be lifted to disengage said parts.

9. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships of the kind wherein the boat is normally pivotally supported at the bow and stern between standards, a bar or frame mounted to swing freely about the axis of the pivots and adapted to support the keel of the boat.

10. A ships boat davit arrangement comprising davits fulcrumed near their lower ends and having a tendency to swing outward when they take the weight of the boat, a quadrant below the foot of each davit a common longitudinal shaft geared to the two quadrants, a lever loosely mounted on said shaft, a toothed wheel fixed on said shaft and a pawl arrangement carried by said lever and adapted to engage said wheel and whereby the davits can be positively swung outboard by hand should the ship have such a list as to prevent them swinging out automatically.

11. Means for holding and releasing boats on board ships, in connection with each of a number of boats, boat holding side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced so as to release the boat, means adapted to release the boats separately and means adapted to release the boats in sets, or as a whole from the captains bridge or other convenient part of a ship.

12. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships wherein the boat is normally supported at the bow and stern by hollow half trunnions and pivots resting one upon the other, sliding members supporting the lower of said parts, levers supporting said members and adapted when in position to hold up said lower parts and catches adapted to hold said levers in the upholding position until released.

13. Boat holding and releasing gear of the kind comprising displaceable boat holding side frames or chocks provided with looking bars adapted to engage with the boat, wherein the said locking bars are pivoted to the side frames or chocks and have their lower ends knuckle jointed to form pawls substantially as described for the purpose specified.

1%. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships the combination of boat holding side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced so as to release the boat, a float adapted, on flotation, to cause release of the boat and separate means whereby the boat can be released from a given part of the ship, said float and separate means being independent of each other.

15. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships, the combination of side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced by the action of a float or by means controlled from a convenient part of the ship, or both, of means connecting the boat to the lifting tackle of the davits or the like of the kind adapted to automatically disengage the boat as soon as it is water borne.

16. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships, the combination of side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced by the action of a float or by means controlled from a convenient part of the ship, or both, of davits of the kind which have a tendency to swing outward automatically from their normal inboard positions on the weight of the boat being taken by the davits.

17. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships, the combination of side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced by the action of a float or by means controlled from a convenient part of the ship or both, davits of the kind which have a tendency to swing outward automatically from their normal inboard positions on the weight of the boat being taken by the davits, and means for connecting the boat to the lifting tackle of the davits adapted to automatically disengage the boat when it is water borne.

18. In means for holding and releasing boats on board ships, the combination of side frames or chocks adapted to be displaced by means controlled from a convenient part of the ship and supports for the bow and stern of the boat which supports are adapted to be lowered when the boat is to be launched.

venient part of the ship, supports for the i bow and stern of the boat which supports are adapted to be lowered when the boat is to be launched and davits of the kind which have a tendency to swing outward automatically from their normal inboard positions on the weight of the boat being taken by the clavits, thearrangement being such that displacement of the side frames or chocks results in the boat being automatically swung outboard. V

Signed at 10 New Court, Lincolns Inn, London, England, this fourteenth day of February, 1916. w V GERARD JOHN PHILLIPS. LOUIS ANTHONY KELLER. I/Vitnesses:

' ARTHUR WOOSUANY,

F. J. Common.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

